Miracle Cure? Quack Medicine in the Renaissance

Ever since President Trump suggested using disinfectant to treat Covid-19 I’ve been thinking about history of using poisonous materials to treat disease. The President’s remarks concerning disinfectant can be traced to so-called chlorine dioxide (read, industrial-strength bleach) treatments, in which parents attempt to cure their autistic children by bathing them in the chemical, feeding it …

Sexual Healing

Before the advent of the little blue pill, Renaissance men and women turned to apothecaries and folklore in order to attain sexual satisfaction. The ceramic drug jar above depicts a phallus complete with testicle haunches, bird’s feet and wings, a rabbit’s ears and face, and sporting a bell around its neck. This jar is one …

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